New Year, New Perspective

Each year, I start the year with a New Year's Day hike--a great way to get outside and set intentions for the year that lays ahead. Hiking and spending time outdoors always gives me some perspective and reminds me about what is important in life. I love having a sense of awe and smallness. This year, we hiked Catherine Creek near Lyle, WA, which holds a special place in my heart (and not simply because we share the same name!)

Instead of resolutions, I choose a Word of the Year to set a theme or intention for the year ahead. This is a practice I learned from Susannah Conway, who has some really fun tools to reflect on the previous year and set intentions for the year ahead on her website. Last year, my word was "Grace," since I could see the upheaval our year was going to hold and wanted to give myself grace accordingly. 

This year, my word is "Heal." This is a very practical and intentional word, as I find myself reeling from the past couple of years, resulting in "severe adrenal dysfunction," according to my doc. As soon as she said those words, so many puzzle pieces clicked into place--I have absolutely pushed myself beyond limits the past couple of years, through grief and intense change. Lucky for me, my doc has some inside knowledge of adrenal fatigue and has me on a great regimen to help heal my body.

 So, instead of pushing myself to the max this year, I am putting my physical and emotional health first. I will be doing about 3 shows, rather than ~10; making more intentionally and focus on connecting directly with customers and vendors; getting outside more and moving in nature; and spending a lot more time with family and loved ones, which always fills my cup.

One of the biggest things that is happening this year is a long-awaited trip to Australia! It has been almost 20 years since I left the land down under, and I have been eagerly awaiting traveling to my home-away-from-home once again. I will be there at the end of February into early March, and am so excited to reconnect with friends and get in some hugs and snuggles. I will definitely be collecting some inspiration as well and may find myself making a small collection from it! We will see!

What are you looking forward to this year? Any plans, changes, resolutions? I would love to hear about them!